


first snow

by amuk



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Missing Scene, Slice of Life, Snow, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuk/pseuds/amuk
Summary: Despite how soft the snow looked, it was hard and crunchy to the touch. Petra was absolutely fascinated by the strange substance. Fortunately for her, the rest of the Black Eagles were more than willing to show her the best way to have fun in the winter.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Petra Macneary, Caspar von Bergliez & Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Linhardt von Hevring & Petra Macneary, Caspar von Bergliez & Petra Macneary, Dorothea Arnault & Petra Macneary, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hubert von Vestra, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Petra Macneary, Ferdinand von Aegir & Petra Macneary, Linhardt von Hevring & Petra Macneary
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	first snow

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: a fire emblem girl doing something winter-y
> 
> For shiyamiro for the Secret Anna! Let’s pretend Petra’s first snow is at the academy and that at no point did she go up north before that.

Petra shivered. It was cold. It was always colder in Fódlan than in Brigid, but it was cold now in a way Hubert’s magic was sometimes cold. Her woolen sweater, hoisted on her by a nervous Bernadetta, did little to keep the chill out of her bones.

Despite that, she immediately forgot about the freezing temperature the second she saw the snow outside. A thick blanket of it covered the academy’s grounds, pristine and untouched as far as the eye could see. In the sunny, cloudless day, the snow shone brightly, almost blindingly. “Wow.”

“I know, right?” Caspar grinned, looking just as excited as she was. They were the only two Black Eagles crowding the classroom doors, taking advantage of their break to peek outside. The rest of her classmates weren’t interested, and she couldn’t understand why.

When Petra had looked at the cloudy skies in the morning, at the small tufts of white floating through the air, she never imagined it’d end like this. “There is so many of it.”

“Perfect for snowmen, snowball fights, snow forts,” Caspar rattled off, his list growing longer and longer with things Petra had never heard of before. “We could fight the houses.”

“Why is it always a fight with you?” A bored Linhardt ambled by, glancing at the snow. “All of that sounds like way too much work.”

“It’s not work, it’s _fun_ ,” Caspar retorted, puffing his chest as he clenched his fist. “It’ll be a fun battle.”

Linhardt yawned already turning away. “There’s no such thing.”

“Come on, you’ll like it,” Caspar cajoled, slinging an arm around his shoulder to keep him in place. “Where’s your fighting spirit?”

“I don’t have one,” he replied bluntly.

_Fighting spirit?_ Petra wasn’t sure what that had to do with the snow. It looked utterly innocent out there and she bit her lip. There was still a little time before their break. She glanced over her shoulder. No one seemed particularly interested. If she just slipped out and back in, it wouldn’t be an issue, right?

Impulsively, she ran out before she could think about it further. It was even colder outside, the icy winds stinging her skin as she jumped into the snow. Petra had expected a softer landing, but it was instead like she was at the beach again. The grains of sand there were so soft in her hand were oddly hard under her feet, shifting at each step.

The snow was no different. It crunched as she stepped, brittle and soft and shifting all at the same time. A maze of contradictions that she had no reference point to deal with. The snowflakes had looked soft, like clouds, but they were clearly made of sterner stuff. Bending over, she scooped a handful of the strange substance.

“Petra!” Ashe shouted, running after her. He was almost impossible to recognize, bundled up as he was. A hat covered the most of his head, a scarf half of his face, and the rest of him looked like he’d tossed on every shirt he could find. “You shouldn’t touch it like that.”

“Why?” Petra asked, confused.

“Don’t you feel cold?” Ashe held out a pair of woolen oven-mitts. “You could get sick.”

“If you are saying so,” Petra agreed, dropping the snow as she accepted the soft things. They did not look good for combat.

“How are you not cold?” Dorothea asked, standing next to Ashe. Like him, she looked similarly bundled up. Unlike him, she still looked utterly stylish as she did so. It was impossible to mistake Dorothea for anyone else.

“It is being very cold,” Petra explained, tugging on the mitt. Her fingers felt warmer and she hadn’t realized they were cold earlier. “But I am not minding it. There are more interesting things to be seeing. There is no snow in Brigid or Hresvelg. Does it only snow here?”

“That’s…” Ashe rubbed his neck.

“It’s all about geography,” Ferdinand replied with a refined snort as he made his way over. Petra looked to her right to find the rest of her class had ambled out while she’d been distracted. Almost everyone was outside—Edelgard and Hubert surveyed them from a distance, Caspar threw snow at a disgruntled Linhardt, and Bernie peeked nervously out of the classroom door.

All of them clearly couldn’t resist the allure of snow.

“Geography?” Petra asked, curious.

“Yes.” As usual, he took on a slightly haughty look as he explained. Petra was never sure if he was trying to show off his knowledge, having yet another unspoken competition with Edelgard, or if he just liked talking. “You see, unlike Faerghus—”

“Here, you should have a scarf too.” Ashe tugged off the one wrapped around his neck, revealing a second one beneath it. Petra wondered if he was like one of those dolls, where the more she took off, the more clothes were found underneath.

“Honestly, we should just go inside.” Dorothea rubbed her arms, trembling as she shifted her feet in the snow. “There’s only one good thing about this season and that’s warm drinks by the fire.”

Ferdinand frowned. “Did you all just ignore me?”

“You should wear more layers,” Ashe added. Despite his own, his cheeks, nose, and ears were a soft red.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Petra?” Edelgard asked with a rare smile.

“Very much so.” Petra grinned, scooping up more snow with her mitts. “I was not thinking the cold could be so interesting.”

“It isn’t,” Hubert replied bluntly, though Petra was certain he looked faintly amused. She never understood his nor Edelgard’s need to hide their true feelings—perhaps it was for their ambitions. But Petra had ambitions of her own and none of them made her stay away from her friends.

“Bernie, have you seen the snow?” Dorothea called out kindly.

There was a soft yelp and Bernie tumbled out the door in surprise. Lying flat on the ground, she protested, “I’ve seen the snow before!”

And just as quickly, she turned into a mouse again, her hands covering her mouth as she realized just how loud she’d been.

“Are you sure?” Caspar stopped throwing snow at Linhardt and helped pick her up. “You’re inside all the time.”

“I…” Bernie flushed a bright red. Petra wasn’t sure if it was from the cold, everyone’s attention, or the fact that Caspar was so close. “I…”

“Don’t tease her,” Linhardt sighed, gently prying Caspar’s hand off Bernie. She immediately stepped back, though to her credit she didn’t hide inside this time.

“In honour of Petra’s and Bernie’s first snow, we should have a snowball fight!” Caspar declared excitedly. “There’s more than enough snow.”

“Were you even listening?” Linhardt groaned, rubbing his forehead.

“It’s not my first snow!” Bernie squeaked,

Linhardt sighed. “There’s not point questioning the idiot. I’m going back in.”

Caspar immediately hooked his hand around both of their arms, keeping them in place. Despite his height, he was surprisingly strong and the two were stuck. “We can make teams.”

“Two teams,” Ferdinand interrupted, recovering from before. His eyes gleamed as he turned to Edelgard. “Naturally, Edelgard and I will be the leaders, facing each other once more.”

“ _Naturally_ ,” Hubert repeated derisively.

Missing the sarcasm, Ferdinand smiled. “Glad you agree!”

Petra cocked her head, glancing at the snow in her hands. It was a solid clump, for certain, but it didn’t seem anything like a weapon. “You can be fighting with this?”

“Oh, it’s fun.” Ashe grinned, scooping a handful of snow. Slowly, he pressed it together until he formed a ball. “My siblings and I used to do this all the time. It doesn’t hurt either. Well…” he frowned. “Mostly it doesn’t hurt. Just don’t add in any ice or rocks.”

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.” Despite her words, Dorothea smiled as she made a snowball as well.

Petra laughed, eager now. “Fighting without hurting? I am looking forward to this!”

-x-

Byleth stared at her empty classroom. Just where had her students disappeared to?


End file.
